Absolute Regression

Chapter 685: There Are So Many Pretty Women Over There

It was truly an invitation she hadn’t expected.

“This is my first time being invited as a judge.”

When the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress spoke as if she couldn’t understand why, Lee Ahn thought it was only natural.

“They called the best judge. Who else would know more about beauty than you?”

The Sky Flower Pavilion had dozens of branches across the Central Plains in addition to its main headquarters here.

Through that, she had met and experienced countless beautiful women, which was probably why she had received such an invitation. Whoever had made the choice, they had chosen well.

“Has there been a Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens Selection Tournament before?”

At Geom Mugeuk’s question, the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress shook her head.

“No, as far as I know, this is the first time such a tournament is being held.”

He couldn’t tell if this tournament had existed in his pre-regression life. It could have happened, or it might have been one of the many changes that had occurred after his regression.

“Who is organizing the tournament?”

Then came a name he hadn’t expected.

“They say it’s the Divine Transformation Gang.”

The Divine Transformation Gang was a major unorthodox sect, very famous in the martial world.

Lee Ahn also knew of the Divine Transformation Gang. Not a righteous sect, and yet an unorthodox group was hosting such a competition?

“Why would the Divine Transformation Gang suddenly decide to hold something like this?”

At her question, Geom Mugeuk pointed at her with his finger.

“Because of you.”

“Huh? Because of me?”

When she tensed up, Geom Mugeuk smiled and said,

“To officially let the martial world know your name.”

“Oh, come on, that’s ridiculous…”

Her expression suddenly faltered.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re saying I should participate in this tournament?”

“Why not? If it were the Greatest Handsome Man Under the Heavens Tournament, I would’ve gone myself. No—actually, I would’ve sent our Soma instead.”

Inside his mask, the Evil Smiling Demon let out a sigh of relief. If it were Geom Mugeuk, he knew he would have forced him to go no matter what.

“Why do I have to attend?”

“There might be enemies among the participants. Find them from within.”

In the past, she would have thought, ‘What enemies could be among the contestants?’ But now she knew that such a thing was entirely possible.

Normally, Lee Ahn would have reacted like this—

No way! Absolutely not!

Waving her hands, stepping back, and giving the kind of glare that said, ‘Just try and make me, even the Young Cult Leader won’t get to order me!’ She would have thrown out every form of refusal at once.

Geom Mugeuk would have been expecting exactly that reaction.

Because he didn’t want to take her to such a dangerous place.

After all, it was the kind of place where the Demon Supreme could drive a dagger into the Young Cult Leader’s heart.

“I’ll participate.”

“Really?”

When Geom Mugeuk asked in surprise, Lee Ahn nodded.

“But why?”

Then Lee Ahn casually asked the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress,

“How much is the prize money?”

At such an unexpected question, the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress looked at her with a surprised expression. She knew Lee Ahn wasn’t the kind of person who would join such a tournament for money.

And soon, she could guess what was on Lee Ahn’s mind when she asked that question.

“It’s a tournament to choose the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens—surely they’ll give at least fifty thousand nyang, don’t you think?”

Lee Ahn’s eyes widened as she exclaimed,

“Fifty thousand nyang?!”

“There might also be additional prizes.”

“Fifty thousand nyang! That’s enough to retire and live a life of idleness forever! Wu Wei Do Sik—every salaried worker’s dream!”

With an excited expression, Lee Ahn turned to Geom Mugeuk.

“I’m joining! Fate has given me the one big chance of my life!”

How could Geom Mugeuk not know? This was her way of avoiding being sent back to the main cult because of the danger.

The Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress added a word to support her.

“Do you think it’ll only be the prize money? When major trading companies in the Central Plains hold events, they’ll invite you, and each time, you’ll get a few hundred nyang.”

“Just for showing my face—hundreds of nyang!”

Geom Mugeuk grabbed her and shook her.

“Snap out of it! You’re being seduced by money!”

“How many trading companies are there in the Central Plains?”

“What about the Tenebrous Ghosts Corps?”

“Tell them to keep splitting into sides and fighting!”

After a round of playful banter, Geom Mugeuk finally spoke seriously.

“Lee Ahn, I’ll take you along. And you don’t have to participate in the tournament.”

He knew she wouldn’t be thrilled about showing off her beauty in front of countless martial figures.

He fully expected her to agree right away.

“No, I’m going to participate.”

No matter how much she disliked it, no matter how embarrassed she might be, she had a clear reason for joining the tournament.

“That platform you saw in the prophecy—that’s the tournament stage, isn’t it?”

The Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress nodded.

“I think so.”

That was the place where Geom Mugeuk would be stabbed in the heart.

“I’ll be standing on that stage with you.”

Geom Mugeuk could feel her firm resolve. Once again, Lee Ahn showed that even if it was something she hated enough to die, she would willingly face it for his sake.

You’re trying this hard to protect me, but the one who will protect you is me.

“I’ll be going as your bodyguard.”

Lee Ahn secretly felt relieved. Yes—what was there to fear with Geom Mugeuk by her side?

Geom Mugeuk then gave the Evil Smiling Demon a role as well.

“Soma, you’ll be in charge of guarding the Pavilion Mistress.”

“Understood.”

Geom Mugeuk asked the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress,

“Where will the tournament be held?”

“In Qingyang, Anhui Province.”

Qingyang was the Divine Transformation Gang’s home turf—they were holding the tournament right in their own backyard.

“When can you depart?”

“I can leave anytime.”

“Then let’s set out early tomorrow.”

The Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress nodded, glancing down at the invitation in her hand.

“I’m going there as a judge, but somehow, it feels like I’m the one going to be judged.”

It was true. Whether it was fate or some force behind the scenes, they were drawing them in.

With a smile, Geom Mugeuk said to her,

“At the end, please give your vote to Lee Ahn!”

Lee Ahn jumped in shock and shouted,

“That would be biased judging! Don’t say things like that!”

“Oh? Sounds like you’re confident you’ll make it to the finals. Weren’t you just participating for the experience?”

“That’s not what I meant. Ugh!”

With her face slightly flushed, Lee Ahn dashed into the building, and Geom Mugeuk followed her inside.

The Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress and the Evil Smiling Demon watched them with smiles.

Then the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress suddenly spoke.

“Thank you.”

She had told the Young Cult Leader everything after hearing what the Evil Smiling Demon had said. If she hadn’t even told him, she didn’t want to imagine how she would feel right now.

The Evil Smiling Demon smiled at her—

a smile that needed no words.

The white mask reflecting the sunlight gleamed brilliantly.

*         *         *

A young man was gazing up at a platform still in the final stages of construction.

The platform was being built on a grand and lavish scale—this was to be the very site of the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens Selection Tournament.

Around the man stood experts exuding a chilling aura in every direction. Passersby didn’t dare come close and detoured far around them.

Just from looking at his guards, one could tell this man’s status was anything but ordinary.

This young man was An Hu-pyeong, heir of the Divine Transformation Gang and the one hosting this tournament.

“Young Master, you’ve come out?”

A middle-aged martial artist approached and greeted him respectfully.

This was Jo Man, the Outer Chief of the Divine Transformation Gang and the one overseeing preparations for the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens Selection Tournament.

“The marketplace is already packed with people.”

Crowds from all across the Central Plains had begun to gather to watch the tournament.

While martial arts tournaments were held all over the Central Plains, this was the first official Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens Selection Tournament, and it had captivated the public’s attention.

An Hu-pyeong, still looking at the platform, asked,

“Chief Jo.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Do you know what my dream is?”

“To marry the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens, of course.”

It was something he had heard from the Young Master since childhood. That dream had not changed, and so it was clearly sincere.

If it had been anyone else, one might have laughed and said, “Such a grand dream for such an ordinary face!”

“You’ve achieved your dream. Congratulations, Young Master.”

“It’s too soon for a toast. The woman who becomes the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens still has to accept my choice.”

“What woman could possibly refuse you?”

A confident smile spread across An Hu-pyeong’s lips.

Chief Jo knew the truth—

even if that woman tried to refuse, it would be useless.

He had known An Hu-pyeong since childhood and knew just how persistent and frightening a man he could be.

Even after knowing him for so long, he still felt nervous about making a slip of the tongue in his presence.

Moreover, he was a lecherous womanizer.

Since childhood, he had been powerless before women. Whoever ended up as the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens, it might turn out to be the most unfortunate title of her life.

“When does it begin?”

“The preliminaries start three days from now. Beautiful women from all across the Central Plains are arriving for the tournament.”

An Hu-pyeong looked at the three chairs placed in front of the platform—seats for the judges. On either side of them, seats for honored guests had been arranged.

“And the judges?”

“Two of the three have already arrived. We’re just waiting for the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress.”

An Hu-pyeong’s gaze sharpened at once.

“The Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress? Isn’t the Sky Flower Pavilion a courtesan house?”

“Yes. We invited its mistress as a judge for this event.”

His expression immediately hardened.

“You mean to tell me you appointed nothing more than the owner of a courtesan house as a judge?”

“The Sky Flower Pavilion is no ordinary courtesan house. It has dozens of branches across the Central Plains and is the largest and most famous of its kind.”

You’ve visited plenty yourself, haven’t you? That was on the tip of Jo Man’s tongue, but he swallowed the words. Perhaps it was precisely because he had frequented such places that he disliked the idea even more.

“At the end of the day, a courtesan house is still a courtesan house.”

Just the thought of marrying the woman chosen by such a madam left him deeply displeased.

“Who decided to make her a judge?”

Jo Man hesitated, clearly uncomfortable, before finally speaking cautiously.

“It was the Gang Leader.”

An Hu-pyeong flinched slightly.

“It was supposed to be someone else, but he changed it at the last moment.”

An odd look crossed An Hu-pyeong’s face. His father had lived his whole life with a sword in hand…

“When the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress arrives, inform me immediately.”

*         *         *

The carriage carrying Geom Mugeuk’s group rolled into the marketplace of Qingyang.

Geom Mugeuk poked Lee Ahn in the side.

“Stop staring already!”

Lee Ahn, who had been staring at the Evil Smiling Demon seated in front of her, jumped in surprise.

She couldn’t help it. Since this morning—on the day they were arriving at their destination—the Evil Smiling Demon had removed his mask and put on a face veil.

It was her first time seeing him without the mask, even though the veil still covered the area below his eyes.

“You’re so handsome!”

The words slipped out of Lee Ahn’s mouth as if in a trance. Then, realizing she had said it right to his face, she quickly bowed her head.

Geom Mugeuk glanced at the Evil Smiling Demon and said,

“As much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree.”

With his eyes and forehead revealed, the Evil Smiling Demon looked like an entirely different person. The special veil added to the effect.

It was an elegant and stylish veil embroidered with a single flower, with the characters for “Heavenly Flower” stitched beneath it.

“I embroidered it myself.”

It was the work of the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress, who was seated beside him.

“But why did you ask me to make ten more just like it?”

The Evil Smiling Demon had requested ten additional veils, but even then—and even now—he hadn’t told her why.

“The moment I take off this veil, it’ll be chaos. All the beauties of the Central Plains will follow me—ten won’t be enough!”

At Geom Mugeuk’s joke, the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress laughed cheerfully.

“Then I’ll have to make more veils!”

Just then, the coachman’s voice came from the driver’s seat.

“We’ve arrived at our destination.”

The Evil Smiling Demon stepped out of the carriage first.

The moment they looked outside, everyone understood why ten more veils might be necessary.

Ten martial artists were waiting in front of the carriage.

Surprisingly, they were the Faceless Swordsmen who had come ahead to wait for them—

the ten most skilled among them.

At some point, they too had removed their masks and were wearing face veils just like the Evil Smiling Demon’s.

Wearing the same uniforms and the same veils, they looked for all the world like bodyguards from the Sky Flower Pavilion.

The Evil Smiling Demon had concluded that the only reason he might have to stab Geom Mugeuk in the heart would be because of the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress—if she were taken hostage and her life used as leverage. Now that he recognized that possibility, he would never allow such a thing to happen.

They had limited it to ten to avoid drawing too much attention, but if possible, he would have brought the entire Faceless Swordsmen corps.

Standing before the ten Faceless Swordsmen, the Evil Smiling Demon smiled. He was now the one responsible for the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress’s protection.

“Let’s go, Mistress.”

The Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress was moved. She was indescribably grateful that the Evil Smiling Demon was taking such care for her sake.

Before stepping out of the carriage, she looked back at Lee Ahn.

“Then I’ll see you on the final stage.”

“The finals? I’m not going to make it that far.”

The Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress smiled and then stepped down from the carriage.

Step, step, step, step, step.

The ten Faceless Swordsmen surrounded her on all sides, with the Evil Smiling Demon at the lead.

They disappeared into the crowd.

Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn stayed in the carriage for a while longer. With so many eyes around, they decided it was better to get out separately.

Lee Ahn’s gaze trembled slightly as she looked out the carriage window.

“There are so many people.”

It seemed the thought of stepping out before such a crowd was making her nervous.

“A martial arts tournament would be easier, right?”

Even on the way here, Lee Ahn had trained in martial arts whenever she had the chance. She had always been obsessed with training, but this time she had worked even harder—because her dream was to be the Greatest Martial Expert Under the Heavens, not the Greatest Beauty.

Geom Mugeuk fully expected her to agree.

“No. I can enter martial arts tournaments even when I’m older, but I can only challenge for the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens now, right?”

Putting on the veil she had brought, Lee Ahn stepped out of the carriage first.

Since she was entering anyway, she intended to do well—

to act like someone who had truly come to win the title of the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens.

Only by immersing herself fully in the tournament could she hope to spot anyone suspicious.

Geom Mugeuk stayed seated, watching the flow of people outside through the carriage window.

‘So, we’ve finally arrived.’

What awaited them here?

He believed everything that had led him to this place was fate—from discovering The Dream of the Priestess in the Martial Alliance’s archives, to the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress receiving her prophecy, to even the invitation to this very event.

And, as he always had, he would face whatever came with all his strength.

“What’s got you sitting there, thinking so deeply instead of getting out?”

When he turned his head, Lee Ahn was standing outside the carriage, looking at him.

“With so many pretty women around, I was just wondering how our Lee Ahn would manage.”

“I don’t see any woman prettier than me.”

Her beautiful eyes sparkled with a bright smile above the pure white veil.

“And let’s save those kinds of worries for after I’ve actually registered for the tournament.”